IN October 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks, David Blunkett ruled out mandatory ID cards. A Home Office spokesman also said: ''We're not interested in just another form of ID because people already have a passport or driving licence.''
Now Mr Blunkett has admitted (in a leaked letter) that ID cards will be compulsory, will be called ID cards rather than the ridiculous ''entitlement cards'' he originally named them, and everyone will be forced by the police to produce these cards if necessary. These cards will include fingerprints and an iris scan. For the dubious privilege of being spied on by the state, Mr Blunkett wants everybody to pay (pounds) 40.
Mr Blunkett seems to have an insatiable appetite for more powers for his department and for more surveillance powers for every branch of government. An ID card will not stop terrorists and it won't stop crooks, but it will mark a massive rise in the power of the government over the individual. It's time to tell the home secretary to stick these proposals in the bin where they belong.
Joe Middleton,
131 Grove Street, Edinburgh.
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